Monster
by HufflepuffsUnite
Summary: Nina Gilbert never expected her parents death. She never expected to gain custody of her two younger siblings. She never expected to find Mystic Falls' newest bad boy so charming. She sure as hell never expected to find out that vampires, witches and werewolves were all real. She never expected any of this, but that wasn't going to stop her protecting the people she loved.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

It has been a long journey.

They have suffered through so much – more than anyone their age should ever have to. I stayed for as long as I could, fought as much as I was able to and, in the end, sacrificed everything that I had. From there on, I felt privileged to watch from the side-lines as they grew up and pulled themselves back together. Piece by piece and day by day.

Watching as they went through all of the pain and the suffering, and not being able to do anything, was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But I was always there, even when I couldn't be seen. I was the sun that warmed their skin in the darkest days, the gentle breeze that cooled their skin during the burning loss and the hand that led them through the seemingly endless nights.

Now, I'm the open arms that welcome them into the next life.

"Welcome home, Elena."


	2. Chapter 1

**So, I probably should not be posting a new story right now, considering I have two other ones posted that I should be working on. I just couldn't help myself though, so here we are! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer - I do not own, or presume to own, any recognisable or published material. I only own the original characters and storyline.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER ONE**

 _With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts._

 _\- Eleanor Roosevelt_

* * *

Nina Gilbert, May 22, 2009; a loud, carefree, party animal with some seriously rockin' moves.

Nina Gilbert, June 5, 2009; the legal custodian of two teenagers.

* * *

"Crap," I groaned with a hand covering my eyes. How did I forget how much I hate waking up so early?

Now, the old Nina would have simply turned back over in bed and fallen back to sleep, but this was the new and improved Nina 2.0. So, with a mournful sigh, I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I then proceeded to almost drown myself in freezing cold tap water in an effort to wake up more, before hopping into the shower.

I used the time spent getting ready to prepare myself mentally for the day ahead. This is Elena and Jeremy's first day back at school. The summer holidays had been spent mostly indoors, mourning the death of our parents and getting used to living without them.

Adjusting to the role of their guardian had been tough. I was used to being the fun, older sister that snuck them out late at night to go and get ice cream. Now, I was the figure of authority in their lives. I was responsible for them.

Sometimes I wondered if I had made the wrong decision in taking custody over them instead of Jenna. In many ways, she would have been the better choice; she was moderately responsible, and she knew how to pay bills and all of that stuff. But I couldn't stomach the thought of someone else looking after my younger siblings. I couldn't just leave them like that, not now.

I had been attending college. I was already half way into my second year of a graphic design course when the accident had happened. When I decided to take custody of my siblings, I made the decision to switch to taking online courses. This way, I only had to travel to the campus a couple of times a year for examinations and progress checks.

I got a small, part-time job at the high school, doing some administrative work. We didn't need the money, but it made me feel better to have some form of active income.

I suppose that I had things covered on a financial basis, after sitting down with Jenna to go over all of the different accounts and bills that we had. When it came to the 'parenting' side of things, that is where I started to panic.

I am irresponsible, unreliable, and I don't always follow the rules when I should. I am not good at being an adult. At least, I used to be all of those things. Now, I am trying to be different. Better. I have Elena and Jeremy to look after now, and I can't let them down. Mom and Dad would want better than that.

So, it is high time that I start acting like the responsible guardian that I should be. And that begins today.

I walked downstairs feeling like a new woman. Nina 2.0 is ready for action.

Of course, I spoke too soon, as per usual.

"Crap, crap, crap!" I swore loudly while quickly switching off the oven.

The muffins that I had been baking were now a dark brown colour, almost verging on black. I hadn't been paying attention to them while I was working on cutting up some fruit, and now they looked completely inedible. Great.

I was determined not to let this discourage me. Positive attitude, and all that. So, I quickly disposed of the burnt muffins and put the leftover batter into the oven. This time, I was going to keep a strict eye on them.

Elena was the first to make an appearance downstairs, and just in time for the second batch of muffins to come out of the oven.

"Morning!" I dusted my hands off on one of the kitchen towels. "I've made muffins, and there's some fruit cut up, if you want?"

She smiled before dubiously picking up one of the muffins. I tried not to take offense to the surprise on her face when they were actually edible. I was not known for my culinary skills.

"You know, if I didn't see the burnt batch in the trash, I would ask who you are and what you've done with my sister," Elena teased.

I flung the kitchen towel at her playfully. "Shut up and eat your breakfast."

Jeremy shuffled into the kitchen a few moments later, heading straight for the coffee machine.

"Good morning, sunshine!" I cheered loudly. "Ready to return to the land of the living?"

Believe me when I say that if looks could kill, I would be in a casket listening to my eulogy right now. But I was determined to maintain my new positive attitude, so I refrained from launching one of the muffins at his head.

"Right, here's the plan, kiddos," I began once they were both sat down. "You're both going to school today; it will most likely suck, and you will probably wish for death at some point, but you will get through it."

Elena attempted to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace, and Jeremy's face never moved from the monotone expression he had been wearing all summer. Nonetheless, I persevered.

"Don't worry, this is where the fun part comes in! I'll pick you both up from school, and you can tell me all about how terrible it was. Then we can come home and gorge on pizza and ice cream. How does that sound?" I proposed hopefully.

"I was actually thinking of going to the grill tonight."

"Can't. I'm busy."

The smile I had been carefully maintaining all morning promptly fizzled out. "Oh, I just thought that we could…Nevermind, it's fine," I sighed wearily. So much for spending some quality time together, huh.

The next few moments were spent in awkward silence. Breathing in deeply, I put the smile back on my face and set about getting them ready for school. Nina 2.0 would not be defeated so easily.

The whole process of making sure that they had pens, notebooks, and lunch money made me think back to my time as a high school student. I was never anything special when it came to academics. I got pretty decent scores, and I don't think I ever failed a class, but it just never clicked for me. My mom always used to say that I could have the whole world in my hands, if I only started to apply myself. I just didn't have any interest in focusing on school when I would have much preferred to be doing other things, like hanging out with my friends and having a good time. That used to be all that I was focused on, having fun and living life to the fullest, or my idea of that, at least. Sometimes I regret not taking my studies more seriously, but most of the time I was glad that I was able to get the wild-child out of my system before all of this happened.

Watching from the doorway as Elena and Jeremy set off for school was tougher than I expected it to be. I had gotten used to them being around all summer, and being able to keep an eye on them all the time. I was worried about them, and how they were dealing with our parents' death. Elena spent most of her time writing in her diary at the cemetery, and Jeremy was holed up in his room doing god knows what.

Hopefully going back to school and being surrounded by other people would help them move on with their lives. I know that Elena was trying to make it seem as though she had moved on, but she hadn't.

I rubbed my face with a tired sigh. I don't know how I'm going to manage this, but I need to try.

* * *

My first order of business for the day was to go grocery shopping. We had been living off of takeaways and junk food for the past couple of months, which was not doing any favours for my skin, or my waistline.

Thankfully, the grocery store wasn't too busy. I was able to peruse the shelves in relative peace for the most part, with only a couple of people coming over to talk to me.

I was in the fresh produce aisle, trying to find the weirdly specific type of apples that Jeremy liked. Honestly, even if I removed the labels from them, he could always tell when I bought the wrong type.

"Nina? Is that you?" A feminine voice called out somewhere behind me.

I whirled around with a pack of apples still in my hands, just in time to see a blur of red hair before I was pulled in for a hug.

"Jessica, hey!" I squeezed her tightly before pulling back slightly. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. How have you been?"

Jessica and I had been close friends throughout high school, and we had even gone to the same college. It was good to see her again, actually.

She smiled brightly at me. "I know, I've missed you! I've been alright, college is killing me, but you know how it is. How about you?"

"Tell me about it, I thought that switching to online classes would mean less work," I laughed. "Things are alright, I suppose. Just trying to keep a tight leash on Elena and Jeremy at the moment, you know?"

Jessica had a big family; one older sister, and three younger brothers. She was always going on about them, saying how she would give them away to a good home for free, if she could. At the time, I had laughed, but I could see the temptation to do it now.

"How are they doing? Especially Jeremy, with his…habits," she asked quietly.

That last comment threw me for a loop. "I'm sorry – his 'habits'?"

"You know, the drugs?" her voice lowered to a whisper. "Jonathan said that he saw him dealing in the stoners pit last weekend."

What the hell?

* * *

I had spent most of the afternoon pacing the kitchen. I just couldn't wrap my head around it; Jeremy was doing drugs? He was dealing to other people? How the hell had I missed that? What kind of guardian am I, if I don't even notice when my kid brother is doing drugs?

My eyes drifted to the countertop. There were several things lying on top of it, including a bong and a few bags of some kind of pills. The first thing I had done once I got home was search Jeremy's room. I had to run into the bathroom to throw up once I found his hidden stash of pills and other drugs. The knowledge that this had been going on right under my nose for the entire summer was just too much to handle.

Now, I was racking my brain for any ideas on how to handle this. I briefly thought about calling Jenna, but I didn't want her to think that I couldn't handle looking after Elena and Jeremy. With a resigned sigh, I slumped into a nearby chair. There was no use in stressing over it right now, there would be plenty of time for that later when I went to pick them up from school.

Despite the shocking news, it truly had been great to see one of my old friends again. Everyone I used to hang out with had moved away for college, and over time we had just grown apart, I suppose. I missed having girl's nights, and venting about all of our problems over a glass of wine.

Maybe I need to get out more, I mused while hopping into my car. I need to just go to the Grill one night, and start socialising again.

Elena had stopped by the car to tell me that she was going to the cemetery, and that she would make her own way back home. So, now I was just waiting for Jeremy to show his face. His lying, drug-using, stupid teenage face.

Looking out into the crowd of teenagers, I finally spotted his messy mop of brown hair at the doors. He was talking to someone; Vicki Donovan, I think. Why would she be at the school, I wondered, much less talking to my little brother. Vicki was a couple of years younger than me, and our paths had crossed a few times during school. As far as I knew, though, she had dropped out and was working at the Grill.

When Jeremy finally slid into the passenger seat, I had to remind myself to play this cool. For now, at least.

"So, how was school?" I started coolly, while driving out of the parking lot. A quiet grunt was the only answer I got, so I decided just to leave it until we got home.

My resolve only lasted until we were about halfway there.

"Get up to anything interesting?" When I was met with silence I continued on anyway. "No? That's fine, I think my day was interesting enough for the both of us."

Jeremy drew his eyes away from the window, turning to face me with a suspicious glance. Indeed, my jaw was clenched tightly, and my hands were tapping agitatedly against the steering wheel.

"Yeah, I found out something that I think you'll be pretty interested to hear," I grit out as I pulled onto our street.

He gave me another strange glance, and then, "Um, okay?"

I tried not to slam the car door behind me, but I wasn't very successful. I made sure to go in the house after Jeremy, just in case he decided to make a break for it once he saw what was on the counter.

Tossing my keys into the dish, I took a few calming breaths before walking into the kitchen.

He was already there, and he was staring at the drugs with a blank expression. I leaned against the doorway, crossing my arms tightly to try and maintain some semblance of control over my temper.

"Do you have an explanation for this?" I asked quietly.

Another blank stare.

"That's okay, I think I've got the gist of it," I shrugged in return. "Jessica Larne informed me that one of her brothers saw you dealing in the stoners pit last weekend. And from the rest of the stuff I found in your room, I'm sure that you are using as well."

"You shouldn't have gone into my room," he frowned, making his way to the door.

I stepped in his way, and pushed him towards one of the kitchen stools. "No, we're doing this now, whether you like it or not. Sit down."

"Look, it's really not that big of a deal." He picked at the sleeves of his sweatshirt, and avoided making any eye contact with me.

"Jeremy, drugs are _very_ serious. I'm worried about you," I explained while rubbing my temples. "You've never really accepted mom and dad being…gone. Is that what this is about?"

Immediately, I regretted the words – not because they weren't true, but because Jeremy does not like talking about his feelings. Or anything to do with death.

I wasn't surprised when he flung himself out of the chair and raced towards the stairs.

He paused, before turning to me with a glare. "You and Elena think you've got it all figured out, don't you?" he spat. "It's a joke! You're not fooling anyone, you know, it's pathetic."

I could only stare in shocked silence, not even moving when he stormed upstairs.

* * *

"Well, so much for Nina 2.0," I muttered while pouring myself a glass of wine. Maybe I should have just spiked the breakfast muffins and hoped for the best this morning. I snorted quietly, Jeremy probably would have liked that.

I was currently in the house by myself. Jeremy had stormed out not long after our chat, and Elena had only come home long enough to change her clothes before heading to the Grill with some mysterious guy that showed up at our door. I probably should have been more concerned about who she was hanging out with these days, but I honestly was beyond the point of caring right now.

I dragged myself through to the living room, and slouched onto the couch with a long sigh. There was a box of pizza sitting in the kitchen, untouched, and a pint of ice cream slowly melting on the countertop. My grand plans for a cosy night in with my siblings had been completely washed down the drain.

Maybe I should just call Jenna, and admit that I cannot do this. Who was I even kidding in the first place, though? When had I ever been guardian-material? This whole thing was doomed from the beginning. Jeremy was right, after all; I was not fooling anyone.

I was trying my best to hold back the tears, when a shuffling noise captured my attention. The pizza box suddenly appeared on the coffee table, and Elena nestled herself on the couch next to me. From the corner of my eye, I could see Jeremy folding himself onto the armchair and picking up the tv remote.

None of us said anything for a while. I was content just to spend time with them, eating pizza and watching cheesy movies. Sometime after the pizza was finished, Elena had her head on my shoulder, and Jeremy was muttering quietly about the half-melted ice cream. I don't know where it came from, but I felt this sudden burst of affection for them, and couldn't contain my smile.

They could be real brats, and they were more trouble than they were worth sometimes, but they weren't all bad. They were my brats to deal with now.

* * *

 **Well, what are your thoughts? I'm really excited to see where this story goes, though I already have the final chapters written for some weird reason. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Please feel free to leave a review telling me your thoughts!**


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